In a style similar to Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Olivier and Bafta-winner Michael Wynne’s dark comedy Cuckooprompts many questions and answers none of them. Anticipating action that never quite materialises, the play centres around a multi-generational Merseyside family of women and their inability to communicate.

Fluently acted and with a stream of comic one-liners, Wynne’s latest production is a brilliant insight into changing family dynamics shaped by our incessant relationship with our phones. The introverted, stubborn daughter Megyn (a professional debut by recent graduate Emma Harrison) is absent for most of the play, present only through texts to her grandmother (the wonderfully engaging Sue Jenkins) and a brief, yet silent, appearance towards the end.

Emma Harrison’s debut as the reserved teenage daughter, Megyn

In the short time Harrison is on stage, the actress captures the way in which we subtly perform not just online, but in front of those closest to us to create a persona different to our actual selves. Refusing to eat a packet of crisps, taking minuscule amounts when forced to eat, and then finishing the entirety of the bowl when unsupervised (we’ve all been there), the character silently demonstrates how we can easily mislead friends and family into seeing what we want them to see.

Meanwhile, in a boldly wallpapered dining room in Birkenhead, Megyn’s mum Carmel (Michelle Butterly) and aunt Sarah (Jodie McNee) navigate job insecurity and online dating, both delivering sardonically witty and emotional performances that capture an entertaining, everyday realism.

Cuckoo’s overarching themes feature family drama, climate change and a hint of existential crisis

Alongside the family drama, there is also the overarching theme of climate change and a hint of existential crisis as we dread our fate in the world. ‘I do love some David Attenborough, but even he can be a bit of a miz bag now… You don’t want to think about the end of the world before you go to bed on a Sunday night,’ laments Doreen (Jenkins), voicing a generation torn between change and comfortable familiarity, awareness and mental wellness.

The all-Scouse cast are engaging throughout and the intimacy of the set designed by Peter McKintosh feels as though we’re part of the drama. Although Wynne ensures we’re never entirely sure what the drama is about…

Tickets start from £12. Cuckoo is playing at the Royal Court Theatre until 19 August 2023.

royalcourttheatre.com